Trial begins for dad accused of killing his missing daughter, Harmony Montgomery
02/09/2024 3:43 pm PST
MANCHESTER, N.H. (TCD) -- Adam Montgomery, who is currently on trial on charges related to his daughter Harmony’s disappearance and death, admitted that he hid her remains after she died.
WBZ-TV reports Montgomery agreed to admit to charges of falsifying physical evidence and abuse of a corpse, but he remains on trial for second-degree murder, assault, and witness tampering. Confessing to those charges reportedly does not mean a change of plea.
Montgomery’s attorney said during opening statements that the jury "can and should" convict him of the two crimes he admitted to. He argued, however, that Montgomery’s estranged wife, Kayla Montgomery, is the one to blame for Harmony Montgomery’s death. Kayla Montgomery is currently incarcerated for perjury.
Kayla Montgomery testified against Adam Montgomery on Friday, Feb. 9, and gave her alleged account about the night 5-year-old Harmony Montgomery died. According to WMUR-TV, Adam, Kayla, and Harmony Montgomery were evicted from their home in November 2019 and had to live in their car. On Dec. 7, 2019, the three were driving to Burger King when the child urinated on herself because she was having incontinence problems.
Kayla Montgomery said Adam Montgomery "was getting really angry from Harmony peeing in the car, and he repetitively kept punching her on the way to Burger King." She alleged he was "punching her repeatedly" while stopped at red lights.
Once they realized the child was dead, Adam Montgomery allegedly placed the girl’s body in a duffel bag. According to the affidavit cited by NBC Boston, Kayla and Adam Montgomery moved in with her mother after their car broke down. Adam Montgomery allegedly left Harmony Montgomery’s body inside a cooler in the apartment building’s common hallway. They reportedly told Kayla Montgomery’s parents that the girl was staying with her mom at a rehab facility.
Adam and Kayla Montgomery reportedly kept moving the child’s body with them as they relocated. They moved into a shelter, and he allegedly put the duffel bag in the ceiling next to a vent. Detectives took a sample from the sheetrock and sent it to a forensic lab for testing, and scientists returned a report saying there was a "very strong" indication that Harmony Montgomery's DNA was on the ceiling.
The report said, "The DNA profile obtained from the sample is 4.1 billion times more probable if the sample originated from Harmony Montgomery and an unknown person than if it originated from two unknown persons."
Harmony Montgomery was reported missing to the Manchester Police Department in December 2021. Her body still has not been found.
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